Second parent adoption, also referred to as co-parent adoption or stepparent adoption, is the process where two parents, one who is a legal parent and one who is a legal stranger, create a permanent and legal relationship between the child and both parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which supports same-sex second parent adoption,
probate court
Finally! Family Division comes to Manchester
The Family Division is finally scheduled to open its doors in Manchester on November 12, 2009. Currently, domestic cases are scattered throughout the courts, with divorce, parenting and child support cases in Superior Court, juvenile matters in District Court and guardianships and termination of parental rights cases in Probate Court. In contrast, the Family Division courts…
Termination of parental rights in New Hampshire
“Surely there can be few loses more grievous than the abrogation of parental rights.” Those words are as true today as they were when Supreme Court Justice Blackmun first wrote them in Lassiter v. Department of Social Services in 1981. Unfortunately, there are times, however grievous, when it is necessary to terminate parental rights against a…
N.H. Supreme Court holds in Salesky that a guardian may maintain a divorce action
On October 8, 2008 the New Hampshire Supreme Court released an opinion for In the Matter of John Salesky and Jacqueline Salesky. The Court held that a guardian, appointed over the person and estate, may maintain a divorce action on behalf of that person with either the express authority of the Probate Court and…
Common law marriage in New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Supreme Court released an opinion on June 3, In Re Estate of David J. Bourassa that clarified the requirements for Common Law Marriage in New Hampshire. The relevant Statute is RSA 457:39. New Hampshire does not recognize common law marriage. However, what the State may recognize is what can be considered…